I think this is the last truly canon chapter. I'm working out some things regarding next season and how Charlotte will weave in nicely without disrupting the story too badly so please allow for some disfluencies in chapter postings. Bare with me and I will do my best to write something interesting and engaging for you all. Thank you my darlings for your on going response & reading. You're all wonderful & inspiring. :) enjoy this chapter my dears xx

Chapter Nine

Will walked though the open fields of his Wolf Trap home while his dogs wove around his feet. Finally his head was clear. His fever was waning and he could feel himself returning from the fog that had clouded his thinking for months. He could feel himself slowly but surely returning to who he knew he was. The delusions and the fantasies that had woven in to the tapestry of his everyday were melting and he felt as though he could truly see again. Jack had finally listened to him about Georgia Madchen. Will wouldn't let her tortured soul be dishonoured by her death.

Will inhaled a deep breathe of the crisp Virginia air and allowed the winter sun to kiss his skin. He could see the copy cat. It was so close he could almost touch it. He knew he was missing only one thing. There was patterns but he just couldn't stitch it together. The copycat had to be close to Jack and himself. He and Jack had probably unintentionally exposed those victims to the copycat. The key was to find the thin red thread that tied it all together. Will felt as though he knew this killer. He just had to think harder.

His thoughts gravitated towards Charlotte as he looked up at the house. His little sailboat on the grass plains filled with his happiness. Charlotte had been unwell of late. She'd said it was nothing but he wasn't so sure. She had become so affectionate since his discharge from hospital. He caught her simply staring lovingly at him around the house. She had a delicate feline beauty that Will was reminded of in those moments. She'd smile adoringly and bite her lip whenever he'd catch her, somewhere between kittenish and coy. It melted him. Charlotte moved like smoke and he'd forgotten it till he was watching fluidly walk about their home. She was so aware of every inch of her skin. Her brunette hair bounced about her, her long lashed glances, and pillowed pink pout drove him to distraction. Will knew he was remembering who he was again because he was noticing her again.

Will wasn't sure what had changed but he was enjoying the warm intimacy their home had taken on since his discharge. She sat a little closer, smiled a lot more, and told him she loved him repeatedly.

Will smiled fondly from the field. He wouldn't question her behaviour. He just enjoyed how happy she was in his company.

As he walked towards the house he could see the outline of Charlotte pacing on the porch. She was wrapped in her pyjamas and his warn dressing gown. He waved and she waved back with a loving smile. He took a few long strides up the porch and smiled boyishly at her. She smiled adoringly back. He was so devastatingly handsome when playfulness was in his eyes.

"You didn't take them," she scolded as she handed him his bottle of antibiotics. "Naughty."

He chuckled and took them from her hand. He tapped them out and swallowed two of the plastic pills. She smiled coyly as he opened his mouth to prove he'd swallowed them. She stepped close and languidly wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him softly, lingering against his lips, and sighing softly. His smell comforted her. He smelt like warm fireplaces, fresh snow, and cut grass. He smelt like home.

The moment was interrupted when Winston jumped up and rested his front paws in her hip. She scratched his ears affectionately.

"Winston," she cooed as the dog wagged his tail and panted excitedly. "Mon petit chien."

She smoothed back his golden hair. Will smiled at the scene and rested his hand on her opposite hip. Most people found his incessant collecting of strays off-putting. Charlotte however viewed it as living proof that a deep river of kindness ran through Will's heart. Charlotte had admitted very early on in their relationship that she found his love of animals incredibly comforting. It was only when Will knew about her father and her childhood did the true significance of that statement settle in.

"We should have called him Gadget," she interrupted his thoughts with her musings. "Gadget the golden dog."

"It's not a name," Will chuckled.

"I don't think Buster is a name," she retorted as she at glanced the little dog weaving a figure of eight around their legs. "But you chose that over my suggestion of James."

"James isn't a name for a dog," Will said with a half cocked smile and joined her in patting Winston.

He glanced down at her to see a light sallow tinge to Charlotte's skin.

"Are you feeling ok?" he asked and she glanced up pleasantly.

"You don't get to ask that," she muttered teasingly. He smiled but ignored her and placed a hand on her forehead.

"You're clammy," he mentioned and she shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said with a reassuring smile.

She wasn't about to tell the still unwell Will that she had morning sickness. It had arrived like clockwork on the sixth week of her pregnancy. Every morning she'd awake to a bubbling feeling of nausea rushing over her.

She'd called Hannibal and he'd comforted her. He'd told her it was a good sign, that it meant that she had good hormone levels, and that he'd get her some prenatal vitamins. She took them religiously under his instruction as he was still the only person she had told.

She had noticed Will recognise her fatigue. He attributed it to stress.

Despite her attempts to assure him she was fine a sudden surge of sickness pushed up her body. She rushed to vomit over the banister of the porch and into the bushes bellow.

She whimpered softly as Will stepped forward and worriedly wrapped an arm about her waist. He rubbed her back and she leant forward over the banister.

"Fine?" he asked again. She leant back, rested her head against his chest, and gulped softly.

"I just need to lie down," she murmured quietly. Will lead her back into the house and lay her down in their bed. He brushed some hair from her face as she closed her eyes with exhaustion.

She hadn't asked Doctor Lecter how long the sickness would last but she was starting to dread that it would never end.

"Maybe you do have flu," Will said with gentle concern and she shook her head weakly.

"I probably have a stomach virus," she mumbled. Will nodded and edged closer to her. He gazed at her with worry.

"I promised Abigail a favour today," he said, being deliberately vague. "It might be a good idea for you to go to Baltimore. You'll be near Doctor Lecter if you need anything."

She would have argued but she knew he was right. She agreed, showered and dressed. She dozed in the car and Will had carried her unconscious form in to the house when they arrived. She was feather light. He always forgot how tiny she was due to the self assurance that made her seem about a foot taller than her actual height.

She awoke just as he lay her in bed. She kissed him softly and smiled through her exhaustion.

"I'll be fine," she murmured. "I promise."

He smiled warmly and kissed her once more. She wished him luck with Abigail, told him breathily that she loved him, and dozed off just as he locked the door behind him.

Charlotte had gone to work, gone back to her home in Baltimore, and fallen asleep in her clothes. She didn't have the energy to organise getting back to Wolf Trap. It was only the next morning when she awoke to several missed calls that she realised she'd forgotten to check how Will was.

The phone calls however were not from Will.

There was roughly thirty missed calls alternating between Jack, Hannibal, and Alana. Jack had texted her one message.

'Ms. Claude come to my office at B.A.U. ASAP.'

Worry settled across her. She called Will a few times but he didn't answer. She comforted herself by reminding herself that he often took a moment to reply. She showered, dressed in a blue dress that skimmed her bloated stomach, and checked to see if Will had called back. He hadn't. Anxiety spread through her and she finally called Hannibal.

He answered on the first ring.

"Charlotte where are you?" he asked quickly.

"I'm in Baltimore," she replied as she sat on the edge of her bed. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Hannibal sighed in relief.

"You're safe," he confirmed.

"Yes," she replied distractedly. "Where's Will? I have so many missed calls. Is Will ok?"

Silence.

"Hannibal?"

"Jack called me," Hannibal said calmly. "Will is safe. I need to take you to the B.A.U. I'll come now."

"Okay," she said as a feeling of dread washed down her. He bid her goodbye and she took some more of his prescribed vitamins while she waited.

When he pulled up to her home she was already waiting outside. She was wrapped tightly in a bright red coat. Cold air had pinched her cheeks pink. She wondered quickly to his car and slipped into the passenger seat.

Hannibal looked very grave and Charlotte felt her stomach knot tightly.

"Good morning Hannibal," she said quietly. Hannibal nodded solemnly and they sat in silence on their drive. He looked very upset and she could feel a subtle, gripping panic drag through her.

Doctor Lecter was deliberately aloof with Charlotte. He silently watched her agitations grow. He could smell the fear coming from skin. He watched her posture fall, her skin blanche, and her jaw tighten.

Will was her weakness just as much as she was his. He watched her hands grip tightly in her lap. She wouldn't dare to look at him till she was sure he was looking at her. He glanced down at her when they arrived in the car park and she waited for his permission to get out of the car. Hannibal silently marvelled at how meek she was around him. She would stand against the storm of Jack Crawford but Hannibal refusing to greet her gaze made her tremble.

They'd walked in silence through the cold clinical corridors of the B.A.U.

Charlotte edged close to him but Hannibal stared ahead with a soft devastation in his eyes she couldn't understand.

Doctor Lecter watched as she hid behind him, timidly brushing her fingers against the tail of coat. Panic and worry was radiating from her. Hannibal still ignored her.

Charlotte walked behind Hannibal as they entered in to the Jack's office. Jack realised for the first time since he'd met her she looked afraid.

An agitated Brian Zeller stood beside Jack and a red eyed Alana Bloom was settled in the corner of the room.

She refused to meet anyones gaze and a trickling, freezing horror started to spread through Charlotte. She finally glanced up at Charlotte but took a short teary breathe in before she crossed her arms and faced the wall beside her.

"Hello Charlotte," Jack said. His tone was kind.

Charlotte froze in the middle of the room. Even when she was lying in hospital beaten and bruised, even when Will was burning a fever of 105; Jack had been rude. So his abrupt warmness terrified her. She stared at his out reached hand and wrapped her coat tightly about her. Charlotte eyed him with a glitter somewhere between fear and suspicion.

Jack dropped his hand and gave a small exhale.

"This is Brian Zeller," Jack introduced. The man gave a sharp nod and threw a hand up. "He's an investigation pathologist for the B.A.U. One of our best."

She nodded and bowed her head to Brian. He looked angry. The bearded man was handsome enough, but he was fidgeting. It was as though he was holding his tongue. Charlotte guessed he probably was considering the warning looks Jack was giving him.

A heavy feeling of grief blanketed the room and Charlotte felt her heart beat sharply against her ribs. She once again wasn't privy. The same sinking terror reached her as when they'd called her to say that Will was in hospital.

Jack gestured to the seats in front of him. She waited for Hannibal to sit but he didn't. He instead walked over to Alana, gently placed a hand on her turned back, and whispered something comforting to her. Charlotte settled on the chair closest to Hannibal.

"Charlotte we need to talk to you about something," Jack said solemnly. "It is very important that you are honest with us."

She nodded anxiously, hands wrapped tightly in her lap.

"Is Will ok?" she asked apprehensively. Zeller's fists clenched and Jack threw him a discouraging glance.

"Will is safe," Jack said and she nodded slowly.

"Good," she whispered with a fevered nod.

"Do you know where he was taking Abigail Hobbs yesterday?" Jack asked. He gave her intense eye contact and she shirked slightly.

"No," she answered honestly. "I saw him yesterday morning. He said he was going to see her. Then he took me to Baltimore, to my apartment because-"

She paused and blushed.

"Because?" Jack asked impatiently.

She could feel Hannibal's gaze burn into her.

"I was sick," she lied by omission. "And Will thought it would be good for me to be near Hannibal."

Jack nodded slowly and softly thudded his fist against the desk.

"Ok," he said as his eyes searched hers for dishonesty. "Have you spoken to him since then?"

She shook her head. Dread was filling her like freezing cold water.

"Is Abigail okay?"

She glanced back at the sound of Alana taking a sharp inhale through gritted teeth. Hannibal rubbed her back comfortingly as Alana hid her face again.

Charlotte looked back at Jack. He saw the growing uneasiness in her eyes.

"Will was arrested this morning," Jack informed her slowly. It sounded as though it hurt him to say it. "After physical evidence of bodily harm towards Abigail Hobbs was found on his property."

"She hasn't been to our house," Charlotte said confusedly and Zeller glared furiously at the spot in front of him.

"We also found identifiers of victims that we previously believed were the crimes of the copycat killer," Jack continued ignoring her point.

She stared blankly at him. Nothing Jack said was making sense.

"Previously?" she repeated in a taught tone.

Jack sighed and gripped his hands in front of him.

"We have found substantial DNA evidence that would suggest Will is involved," Jack said. His eyes shone compassionately and Charlotte stared unseeingly.

Silence gripped the room and she felt blood rush to her ears. Her knuckles turned white.

"I don't understand," she said in a tiny voice. It was almost missed but Zeller jumped on it.

"Will got found with human body parts at your house," Zeller said bitterly. "He's our copycat killer."

A loud buzzing filled Charlotte's ears.

"That can't be right," she uttered in a constricted tone. "You have to be wrong."

"The evidence would suggest we are… unfortunately… right," Jack said as his jaw set. Pain shone in his eyes. "Did you know he was loosing time?"

She shook her head dumbly and her eyes darted between Zeller and Jack.

Charlotte felt like she wasn't in her own body. She felt numb, hot, and cold all at the same time.

"What's going to happen?" Charlotte asked in a breath.

Panic crushed her.

"Will will be showed due process," Jack said. "We will take it from there."

She stared blankly.

"When we prove it," Zeller said cuttingly. "He'll get the death penalty."

"Z!" Jack shouted and Zeller stepped back with raised hands, though his expression suggested he was completely unapologetic.

Jack was speaking to her but Charlotte couldn't hear him. Buzzing filled her ears and fear overwhelmed her.

Jack's strong voice was drowned out by her horrified inner monologue that was on repeat.

Not again, she thought with desperation. This can't be right. This can't have happened again. Not Will. Not Will. Not Will-

Vomit interrupted everyone.

She fell forward to her knees and snatched Jack's lined paper bin just as bile forced its way up her throat. With in seconds a strong arm wrapped around her waist and another held her hair back.

When she finished she sat back on her heels and landed heavily on the floor. She stared at her knees as the person holding her gently rocked her back and forth.

"Charlotte?" she could hear Jack calling. She eyes fluttered upward and she glanced to see him staring with concern. "Do you need anything?"

She tried to shake her head but a fresh wave of nausea caused her to buckle back over the bin.

"Zeller get a thermometer," she heard Jack order. "She might have caught whatever Will has."

"I haven't," she pleaded softly. Alana followed Zeller from the room, too upset to stand and watch any longer.

"We will take you to the hospital," Jack said as he crouched down by her. He reached out and placed a hand on her forehead. "You're hot."

She shook her head and leant heavily in to Hannibal, who was crouched and holding the shivering girl in his grip.

"Jack i'm not sick."

He stood and checked his phone.

"Jack," she called but he ignored her. Hannibal continued to smooth her hair back.

He was calling someone. She felt her heart sink as her head dropped and her shoulders slumped.

"Jack, I'm pregnant."

Jack hung up on whoever he was calling. Silence covered the room and she refused to look up. Burning horror crossed her as she realised how much more complicated this had made everything.

The door swung as Zeller walked in. Hannibal and Jack glanced up at the cocky scientist.

"Jack-"

"Get out," Jack bellowed. Zeller's face froze and he rushed out of the room.

Jack rubbed his hands down his face and begun to pace in front of her.

Hannibal attempted to help her up but she was heavy as stone. She'd collapsed under the news so instead he sat down and allowed her to lean back against his chest. She reached forward and unseeingly snatched the sleeve of his coat. Her paled fingers clung to him for dear life.

Jack let out a heavy sigh and nodded darkly.

"Ok," Jack said more to himself than to anyone else. "Ok."

She looked up and he saw heartbreak written on her face. Despite the fact she'd been so difficult for months he felt wounded by her expression. She'd only wanted what was best for Will. She'd begged him not to break Will and he had. He'd left her alone and pregnant. He'd taken every piece of family she had left.

"I just can't understand," Charlotte said in a raw broken voice. "I don't. How could Will… he couldn't of."

Hannibal noted with deep interest the sincerity in her voice. She was shocked but that was not the voice of her denial. That was the voice of her certainty.

"The evidence suggest-"

"It's wrong."

She struggled to stand and Hannibal helped her to her feet. Her fingers never unwrapped from his sleeve.

Jack simply nodded.

"I'm praying you're right," he told her and stared her down till she crumbled. She'd left the room with Hannibal's coat sleeve still in her hand. They paused outside and he glanced down at her.

He considered his next move carefully. She was vulnerable, alone, and in need of support. He could deny it to her and hope she begged for it but her stubbornness could make that plan null. He'd not known her long enough to have observe her responses naturally.

He placed a knuckle beneath her chin and nudged her gaze upward. She stared at him and took a small gulp.

"Charlotte I am so sorry," Hannibal said sincerely. She nodded as a single hot tear dragged down her face.

It was the first tear Hannibal had ever seen on her. It was only one but it was one more than ever before.

He gently brushed it away and she gave a weak smile.

If anyone would see through what he had done it would be her. She'd spent the majority of her life near a man whose capabilities were clear to her. If anyone could see a killer it would be Charlotte Claude. Her very life had depended on it previously. Her certainty that Will was innocent had not been from defence or desperation. Charlotte knew in heart of hearts what it felt like to be in the house of a killer.

She knew that Will Graham wasn't a killer.

Hannibal knew his life depended on her believing the same of him.

"Are you ok?" she asked in a tiny voice.

He nodded and took her lost face gently between his hands.

"Charlotte," Hannibal said as he leant down and stared intently in to her anguished eyes. "I have failed Abigail, I have failed Will, but I will not fail you or your unborn child."

Her hands ghosted her stomach and she nodded weakly in his grip.

"Thank you Hannibal," she whispered gratefully. He embraced her and her fingers wrapped against his blazer.

He breathed her in. She melted against him as he held her tightly in his embrace. Charlotte had seen her father. Charlotte had seen through to the core of those around her whole existence. It had saved her life at eighteen. She had finally run to the safety of Will and Hannibal knew even though he could convince everyone else that Will was guilty of murder Charlotte would never believe him. Hannibal knew that. However all he needed was Charlotte to not suspect him.

As she rested her cheek against his tie Hannibal gently thumbed her hair and rested his chin on the top of Charlotte's head.

She wouldn't see him. Not till he wanted her to. Not till it was too late.